A Twist
by Melinda Sandy Halliwell
Summary: This started out as a crack-fic one shot that I wrote for myself. It's caught my attention though and has turned into a bit more of a story. Enjoy! Ami/Zoi
1. Chapter 1

This is a crack fanfic that has no bearing whatsoever on The Final Enemy or any of my other writings. This is just something I got to wondering about and decided to write.

* * *

"You have to tell her the truth."

The youngest of the Shitennou sighed and looked at Nephrite, "She might not be Jed's fiery priestess, but her cold can be just as frightening. She'll hate me."

Jed rolled my eyes, "I've seen her when she's irritated with you. I think I'd rather deal with Bridget, thank you very much. But Neph's right, Zoi. You have to tell Amelie. She deserves that much."

"I don't see why I should…" Zoisite crossed arms over his chest and pouted. It was really annoying when the others chose to gang up on him.

Kunzite simply raised an eyebrow, not saying anything. Zoisite looked away, not able to meet that look.

"I can't."

"You're one of my Shitennou, Zoisite. That means you're not a coward. You can do this."

He sighed and dropped his head into his hands, "I hate you all."

"Aw, Zoiy!" Jed grinned, "You know we love you, freak."

Kunzite glared at Jadeite, "You're not helping."

Nephrite sat beside the youngest of the group, "Zoi, you love her. It's clear to all of us that she's not just one of your normal play things."

Zoi snorted, "Come on, you guys know better than that. I like playing around. She's just more challenging than my other conquests."

Kunzite spoke softly, "I saw the ring, Zoisite."

Zoi's eyes widened and he sighed, "Fine, fine. I love her. But she'll hate me."

Mamoru grinned, "So you were planning on going through the marriage lying to her? Or surprising her on the wedding night?"

Zoisite once again buried his face in his hands in frustration. "I really do hate you all." There was a moment of silence before he looked up to Jadeite, "Will you have your fire bird defrost me?"

Jadeite grinned, "I'll try!"

* * *

Amelie was walking through the palace, heading back to her own quarters after a long day of treaty negotiations. While it came as a surprise to many who knew her, Amelie hated diplomacy. Sure, she could stay calm, or at least appear to do so, and her answers were always carefully worded to avoid insults, but the truth of the matter was that the absolute stupidity that tended to rule the other diplomats drove her crazy. She could not understand how they could be so blind to the facts and reality.

Her thoughts were dark as she headed to the safety of her quarters and it was the promise she had made to herself of a long bath that was keeping her from freezing the halls as she walked.

She was so focused that she jumped a bit, startled, when she felt someone grab her elbow. Seeing who it was, the Mercurian smiled, a blush coloring her pale cheeks.

"I'm never going to grow tired of that."

"You're horrible, Zoi."

"I know, but I also know just how much you love it."

Amelie rolled her eyes, not affirming his words, but not bothering to deny what they both knew was true either. They walked in companionable silence for a while, Amelie's thoughts brightening a bit as they did so.

"Amelie?" The princess turned to look at the man she loved, blinking rapidly at the tentativeness she heard in his voice as well as the fact that he had not called her "Ames."

"Yes, Zoisite?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "We need to talk."

Amelie frowned and her steps faltered. She had known that eventually he would tire of her, that he would eventually leave her. She had not expected it to happen quite yet. "Ok."

Zoisite noticed the frown and grabbed the young woman's waist, pulling her close to him, not worried about scurrying servants who would see or the blush that he knew would stain her cheeks at a public display of affection. "I thought you'd gotten past this doubt, Nymph. I love you." Before she could protest, he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss, to prove his point.

When they separated, Amelie's face was scarlet, though Zoisite was sure that only part of that was her constant blushing and part of it was being flushed from the kiss.

"But… you said that we need to talk."

"Yes, we need to have a conversation. I take it we were heading to your quarters?"

Amelie nodded.

"Good." Zoisite smiled, trying to feign the confidence he did not really feel.

Once they reached her quarters, Zoi guided Amelie over to her own couch, "You'll want to be sitting."

Amelie frowned, but did sit. She noticed that Zoisite began pacing. "You're making me nervous, Peacock."

Zoi grimaced at that nickname. Usually, he exalted in it, especially when it came from his Ames' lips, but right now it was rather painful to hear.

"Amelie, I love you. I need you to know that before I say anything else. To understand just how much I really love you."

Amelie nodded, "I know. I'm sorry that I doubted. It's just…" She smiled, "It's just hard to believe that you could have any woman you want and you want me. I'm not used to… to that."

Zoi sighed, "And one day, I will personally teach a lesson to every man who made you feel that way."

"Zoi… what's going on?"

"I need to tell you something, Ames. And it's not easy for me. To be honest, I'm a bit afraid of how you're going to react." He sighed, "I don't want you to hate me, Amelie."

The blue haired genius blinked, "I… I could never hate you, Zoi."

"Don't be so sure of that." He sighed, "The only ones who know the truth are the guys. And my parents. No one else knows, but I should have told you sooner. I should have told you as soon as I knew that I loved you, as soon as I realized that you weren't some challenge." He closed his eyes, not able to look at her for a moment, and needing to gather his courage to admit his secret to the one person who could hurt him the most because of it.

Amelie sat quietly, waiting patiently.

When Zoi finally gathered the courage, the words still came out quietly. "I'm… I'm a woman."

Amelie blinked, "Oh. Yeah, I know."

Zoi's jaw dropped as he – he might be female but he still tended to think of himself in masculine terms – looked at his beautiful Nymph. "You know?"

Amelie giggled, "Your biometrics were off. It took me a moment to figure out why that was, but yes, I know. I haven't told anyone. And while the other girls seem to think that you're a feminine man, I think even Rei perceives your aura as masculine."

"You don't hate me?"

She shook her head, "I told you, I could never hate you."

"You've known the whole time."

Amelie nodded.

"It doesn't bother you?"

"That I'm in love with a woman?" She shrugged, "It actually made some things I'd always wondered about make sense. I do wish you'd told me sooner, but I figured you would when you were ready."

Zoi just stared at her.

"I am curious though… I mean..." She blushed, "I know that you've been with other women… how did you keep your secret?"

Zoi smiled, "Want me to show you?"

"I've wanted that for a while…"

Zoi sighed and moved to the couch, gathering the small woman into his arms, "Ames, Nymph, I didn't want to lie to you that way. I wanted to be with you without hiding. And I promise, I've not been with anyone else since I've met you."

Amelie smiled and laid her head against his chest, "I know." She looked up at him, "Be with me truthfully, and then you can show me your lie."

Zoi laughed and gathered his nymph into his arms, carrying her towards her bedroom, "As my princess commands."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Decided to do a bit more with this. I have no idea how much more I'll do except that this is probably not the end.

* * *

Ami sat up with a gasp. She sighed and reached over to turn off the alarm clock, since it was going to start blaring in five minutes anyway. She rubbed the back of her neck and looked up, as if trying to find answers in the ceiling. She sure was not finding them anywhere else.

After a few minutes she got up and grabbed her robe, heading towards the bathroom.

"Morning, Ami! Coffee will be ready by the time you get out of the shower."

Ami grunted her thanks and waved in acknowledgement at Makoto. She heard a chuckle, but nothing else from the tallest of her friends. While it was not usually an issue with Minako or Usagi who tended to wake well after the others, her best friends and roommates all knew not to talk expect anything from Ami before she had a shower.

As Ami got the water to temperature, she smiled a bit. Their families had warned the girls about living together, had said that even the closest of friends could come to hate each other when they lived together. It had been rough at first, and sharing two bathrooms among five girls was part of the difficulty, having enough hot water was another one. However, they'd managed to navigate through all that, and were even more sisters than they had been before.

Ami stripped down and stepped into the shower, taking a couple of moments to just enjoy the feel of water on her skin. However, after a few minutes, the dream from the night before forced its way back to the front of her mind.

That was the fifth night in a room that she had had the same dream. She knew from her own experience and talking to the others that dreams of their past lives were not uncommon, even occasionally recurring ones were fairly standard. Even the content of it no longer disturbed her. Though she had been desperately glad that the first time it had come had been a Friday night. The questions it had raised had caused her to lock herself in her room for the most of the day, and she knew that the girls were still concerned about her.

No, what bothered her the most was how… how satisfied she felt upon waking. She actually felt as if she'd well… as if it had really happened. The fact that she was a virgin made that far more difficult to accept. How could she know what it would feel like to be satisfied in that way? Unless perhaps her memories somehow provided that.

She sighed as she cut off the water, not only reluctant to leave the connection with her element, but slightly reluctant to face her sisters and their questions. She pulled her blue robe on and leaned against the wall. "I wonder if they knew, if they ever found out. And if so, do they remember now?"

Ami shook her head. She'd tell them. She'd have to tell them, just not yet. Not until she figured out more for herself first.

She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Makoto was, as she expected, sitting at the table with three cups of coffee. That meant that Rei was up as well, probably finishing up her morning prayers.

"Morning, Mako." She smiled as she sat down, Makoto sliding the sugar and creamer over to her.

"Good morning." She tilted her head slightly, "Dream again?"

Ami nodded as she doctored her coffee to taste like something other than, well, coffee.

"Are you ok? That's… five nights in a row isn't it?"

Ami nodded and smiled to Makoto. "I'm fine."

Makoto shook her head, "You're stronger than I am then. Five nights of dreaming about Nephrite, and I'm a mess. I swear, we were better off before we remembered anything."

Ami raised an eyebrow, "Should we have Usagi tell Mamoru that you won't be coming tonight then?"

"No… but I have to admit, I'm growing tired of having a relationship with a rock."

Rei emerged from her room, wrapped in her own robe – the Fire Senshi tended to mediate, drink coffee, and then shower. The other two never scheduled classes for before ten in the morning, so it was rare to see them in the morning at all. "We all are. I hope the frequency of dreams means that all that's about to come to an end."

Ami blinked at Rei, "Did you see something?"

Rei nodded, "I dreamt of Jadeite last night. I thought I had a few more nights before I dreamt of him."

Ami and Makoto both nodded in sympathy. The dreams had developed a kind of pattern. They'd last for a couple of days and then there would be at least two weeks without anything. Rei's last set had ended just over a week previous.

"Are you all right?"

Rei nodded, "Yeah. But I consulted the fire when I woke up this morning. It was not entirely clear, but I think…" Rei sighed, "I think we need to get to face if we really can trust and forgive them or not."

Makoto smirked, "And make sure that we let Haruka know that if we decide we can't, we'll take care of the guys ourselves."

Ami chuckled a bit. It had long been established that the Shitennou were not under their own control. Beryl had not just manipulated them, but had tortured them until they joined her. For the most part, they'd all been forgiven, but when the girls were together without Usagi, they all admitted that they were not sure it would be that easy if the guys were ever corporal again. It was a bit of shared guilt between the four of them.

Rei looked over to Ami, "Yours still going on?"

Ami nodded and Rei reached over to squeeze her hand before taking a sip of her own coffee – black. "Are you going to be ok tonight?"

Each of them dealt with the dreams differently. When Ami was in the midst of them, she tended to skip at least one of the twice-weekly visits with Shitennou and retreated into her books. Makoto tended to retreat into herself if they lasted more than three days. Rei grew short tempered and would snap at Jadeite throughout the visits. Minako became manic though at night she'd go to bed early and everyone could hear her crying.

Ami nodded, "Yeah… I… I want to see him."

Makoto and Rei both blinked at Ami and then looked at each other. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Ami, you know he'll understand. You don't have to go." Makoto was frowning at the smallest member of their group.

Ami smiled, "I know. But I need to. I need to talk to him. Especially if Rei's right."

Rei shrugged, "Ami, I don't think it's going to happen immediately. I'm sure they'll still be stuck in stones come Sunday."

Ami chuckled, "I'll be ok. Really. Besides, there's still the rest of the day before we go. I have plenty of time to change my mind if I need to."

Rei and Makoto again exchanged looks and sighed. "All right, Ami. Just… if we get there and you need to leave, let someone know ok? Don't suffer just to protect all the rest of us."

Ami nodded, "I won't." All three of them knew that it was a lie. If Ami went, she would not take the limited amount of time the others had with the spirits of the Shitennou in order to spare herself some discomfort.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: This has really captured my imagination. Don't worry though, I'm not going to neglect Enemy, but this is a less serious fic and the chapters tend to be shorter.

* * *

It had been a long day, a very long day. The anticipating of the evening visit was much more than Ami remembered having experienced for a long time. Classes, as much as she enjoyed them, seemed to draw on forever, and Ami was convinced that every minute was actually 120 seconds long.

It did not help any that both Usagi and Minako had e-mailed her to make sure she was all right and to tell her, yet again, that it was really ok if she did not want to go to Mamoru's tonight. At lunch she almost screamed at her friends for their concern. While she had not, the others had noticed that the temperature at their table had dropped considerably.

Fortunately, as they were getting ready over pizza – the girls always ate before visiting with the spirits of their former lovers as it simply seemed unfair to eat in front of the non-corporeal beings – the others had finally accepted that Ami did not feel like she _had_ to go, but that she wanted to. No one said anything, when Ami asked Minako to help her with her make-up, though Ami did catch the raised eyebrows and exchanged glances. She managed not to freeze the Senshi of Love and Beauty when her eyebrows were plucked, nor did she grimace too much while Minako and Usagi debated how to do her hair.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Ami, the five of them were walking over to Mamoru's apartment. Ami found that her stomach felt like it was the home to an entire flight of butterflies. For the first time that day, Ami actually wanted time to slow down.

"Hey? You ok? You're looking pretty pale."

Ami blinked and looked over to Makoto who had pulled herself out of the conversation of the other girls long enough to notice how shaken the smallest of the five women was. She nodded and managed a shaky smile. "Just… nervous all the sudden. I'll be fine."

Hearing the two, the other three had ended their conversation, "Ami, you never did tell us what this dream memory was. It must not be too painful if you're able to come tonight, and now you're nervous?"

Ami sighed softly at Usagi's question. "Later. Please."

Minako winked at the other girls and then smiled to Ami, "If it was the kind of dream that has you nervous and giddy about seeing Zoisite, you don't ever have to tell us about it if you don't want to."

Ami's blush confirmed Minako's suspicions for all the girls. "Minako _not_ asking for details? I'm impressed."

Minako rolled her eyes and all five girls laughed as they reached Mamoru's apartment building.

Usagi skipped up to the intercom and pressed the button for his apartment. "Mamo-chan! It's us!"

There was a chuckled in the voice that responded, "I figured as much, Usako." As the buzz of the door unlocking was heard, Rei opened the door. "Come on up."

"Kay! See you in a moment."

The others smirked as the followed their bouncy princess up to Mamoru's apartment.

When they reached the apartment, Mamoru and Usagi shared a soft chaste kiss, something all the girls knew was for their benefit, to keep them from feeling too badly about the ghosts they loved.

Mamoru grinned, "Ami? I was not expecting to see you tonight. Zoisite'll be pleasantly surprised." The future king then seemed to see the looks he was getting from Rei and Makoto and the look of satisfaction on Minako's face. He raised an eyebrow, but realized this was obviously not something he should make a big deal about. "Um… anyway, come on in, everyone. Make yourselves comfortable."

The girls entered, each taking their customary seat around the room: Minako with her back against the wall, where she could keep an eye on everything in the room; Ami sat leaning against Mamoru's bookshelf; finding comfort in the physical nearness of so many books; Makoto and Rei both took seats on the couch – with Makoto curling her legs under her while Rei sat properly with her legs crossed at the ankles; and Usagi grabbed the arm chair, where she'd snuggle with Mamoru while the girls talked the Shitennou.

Mamoru approached the walked over to the desk where the glass case containing the stones of his men were kept. He opened the lid, smiling. Over the year and half in which the girls had been meeting regularly with the spirits of the Shitennou, the "ritual" of calling them forth had become much less formal. "Gentlemen, the ladies are here."

While the spirits inside the stones were never aware of just what dreams their Senshi were having, they did know when they were having them as they felt the tug on their own souls during them. Therefore, only three spirits materialized in the room.

As each spirit moved towards his Senshi, it was Jadeite who noticed that Ami was there. "Hey! Zoi, there's a surprise for you. You might wanna come out of that rock."

Ami smiled softly, well aware of how the guys tended to pick on each other. She half noticed Rei taking a swipe at the back of Jadeite's non-corporal head and heard him laugh, "Sorry, love."

"Ami?"

Ami smiled seeing Zoisite manifest himself. She nodded and laughed as he ran over to her, sitting beside the Senshi of Wisdom. "I didn't expect you. I felt like you dreamed last night…"

Ami interrupted him, "I did. But I wanted to see you. I needed to talk to you."

Zoisite smiled that smile that Ami loved so much, "Of course, Nymph. I'm always glad to talk to you. I was just surprised."

Ami smiled softly, blushing at the familiar nickname as the two of them intertwined their fingers. Despite the fact that they could not feel each other, the gesture was something they had worked out over time and was one that brought Ami quite a bit of comfort.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, neither fully aware of the others in the room, though they caught snatches of conversations and Zoisite felt the anchoring presence of Mamoru which made him able to manifest himself in the first place.

"Nymph? Love? Is everything ok?"

Ami nodded, blushing deeply, not quite able to look at Zoisite, not sure how to start the conversation, how to talk about what it was that she so desperately needed to talk to him about.

After a few more moments of silence, Zoisite tried again, "Ames? Is something bothering you?"

Ami sighed and closed her eyes, "I don't know."

"You don't know if something is bothering you?"

"No… I mean… yes. I'm not sure if it's really bothering me or how I feel about it."

"Feel about what, Ames?"

She sighed, "I've been having this dream." She ignored the way he rose an eyebrow, as if to say _I know that, Nymph._ "It feels like a memory, and I guess since you knew I was having it, it must be. But… I'm confused… that's all. I'm just confused."

While Zoisite did not move the hand that was "holding" Ami's, he moved his other arm around her. He knew full well that she would not be able to feel her, but he knew she'd take comfort in the gesture, "Tell me about the dream, Ames."

Ami took a deep breath, and in tones quiet enough that no one would be able to overhear her, she told him about the dream.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Obviously I don't own anything.

ENJOY!

* * *

Ami was blushing as she told Zoisite about the dreams she'd been having. If she had been able to look at him while telling him, she would have noticed that he was smiling softly, warmly. "And then…"

"I remember what happened next, Ames. I'm afraid if you blush anymore you're cheeks are going to explode." There was a touch of laughter in his voice, but Ami did not feel like he was ridiculing her.

Finally, she brought her eyes up to his face and was surprised to find that while he was smiling, there was a touch of concern in his eyes. She blinked, frowning slightly. "Is… is something wrong?"

Zoisite wanted nothing more than to actually be able to hold his beautiful Nymph in that moment. It was clear to him just how much she needed to be able to feel the physical closeness, and it broke his heart that he could not provide that for her. "That's up to you, Nymph."

"It's true then? You're… a woman?"

Zoisite laughed a bit, "Anatomically, yes. Though if that is a problem for you, if we ever get to be reincarnated, I'll see if I can get a male body this time around."

Ami frowned a bit, chewing her lip. She remembered how she had felt in the dream, the thoughts that had raced through her mind for the past five days. She closed her eyes, not to close herself from the site of Zoisite, but to imagine the choices – as if they were really available to her. She forced herself to imagine Zoisite naked, drawing on the memories provided by the dreams.

After a moment, she opened her eyes with a sigh. "I don't know, Zoi. I'm so sorry, Peacock. I remember being…" Her voice dropped, not because it was anything to be ashamed of but because of how much of a shock it had been to herself, "being a lesbian. I've woken up every morning feeling satisfied."

She could not help but note Zoisite's grin at that revelation, and her cheeks reddened even more, causing him to laugh softly, "I love to see you blush. You're always beautiful, but there's something sweet and vulnerable about you when you blush."

Ami smiled softly, "Most people see me as cold and guarded." This was a familiar conversation, one they had had countless times, and in the midst of everything that was happening, she found this old repetitive conversation to be comfortable.

"Most people are fools, Ames. And I happen to know that there several people, many of whom are in this room, who know better than that." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. Ami closed her eyes momentarily, pretending that she could feel him pressing his lips against her.

"I know." She smiled and opened her eyes again.

There was silence between them for a few minutes, but unlike before this was a comfortable, companionable silence.

Eventually, Zoisite broke the silence, "Are you all right, Ames?"

She nodded, "I think so. I have a lot to think about, but it's not more than I have been thinking about for the better part of the past week." She laughed slightly.

He nodded, "You know I'm always here for you. If you need to talk, I don't think Mamoru minds you dropping by. As long as you're ok with talking to a rock rather than a ghost."

Ami laughed a bit, and the sound was like a balm to Zoisite. "I think I could deal with that. Maybe I could ask him if I could borrow you?"

Zoisite blinked, taken by surprise at his love's question. "You probably could. Our duty is to him, but we also have our duty and love for you girls. I don't think he'd mind." It had not been done before, and it would be lonely when she was not there without the other three around to talk to and to pick on him and him on them.

It was Ami's turn to blink, "I… I had been kidding. But…? Do you think he'd let me?"

"I think you could ask. I can't imagine why he'd say no, though."

Ami frowned, again chewing her lip, and it was all Zoisite could do not to laugh at the thoughtfulness that was manifest on his Nymph's expression.

"Sweetie, you're thinking too hard. Just relax and enjoy the time now."

Blushing yet again, Ami nodded. "Sorry."

"Hush, love. There's no need to be sorry."

Ami smiled and leaned back, imagining that she could feel the arm that was drapped over her shoulders. "Zoi…?"

"Yes, Ames?"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Zoisite grimaced and glanced briefly over to the other Shitennou, each with his own Senshi. Kunzite turned from Minako for just a moment and looked over to the youngest Shitennou with a raised eyebrow. Zoisite smiled for a moment and then the oldest and leader of the group turned his attention back to the Senshi of Venus.

"It didn't seem important." Before Ami could object, he continued, "I'm a spirit, Ami. And at first, there were much more important things to be dealt with. My gender seemed a much less important issue than the fact that I had once killed you and the more recent betrayals."

"We've been past that for a while, Zoi."

He snorted, "Perhaps."

Ami raised an eyebrow, and while it had a very different affect on the Shitennou than when Kunzite raised his, but it was still an effective means of communication.

"Are you telling me that if I managed to be solid right now, there would be no doubts, no questions on your point?"

Ami blushed and looked down wondering how he had known that. She swallowed and spoke softly, "I don't know."

"Don't feel bad about it, Ami. I'm not entirely sure that I can ever forgive myself. What we did… what I did was absolutely inexcusable. It does not matter that I was tortured or brain washed or anything else. I should have been strong enough to fight it. I should have been able to resist. I should have made it back to you to fight beside you not against you."

"Zoi."

He smiled, "I'm all right, Ami. Yes, I deal with guilt, we all do. But these visits make it a lot more bearable. That you sit here with me, that Rei isn't performing some kind of exorcism to protect you, that twice a week I get to bask in your light, all of that makes it bearable."

Ami smiled, feeling her own ache to hug this beautiful spirit, to provide him more comfort. "I love you, Zoisite."

"And I love you, Ames. However, I still owe you an answer to your question. I suppose the answer is the same as it was the first time around. I was afraid of how you would feel about it. I was afraid that you'd think me disgusting, some kind of monster for playing on your feelings, for manipulating you. I was worried that you would not want anything more to do with me, that you would stop coming to visit me."

"That I would hate you?"

He sighed, "Yes, that you would hate me."

"I told you once, and I meant it, I could never hate you, Zoi."

"I suppose you're not the only one to have some insecurities, Nymph."

"Hmmm… what can I do to convince you of the truth? I never hated you, Zoi. Never. Even when I wanted to hate you. Even when I thought it would be so much easier if I could hate. Even then I loved you."

"Forgive me for ever doubting you?"

Ami smiled, "I'll forgive you for anything."

"Thank you."

A few more minutes passed, and Zoisite noticed that Mamoru was beginning to droop against Usagi as he held her.

"I love you, Ames. Whatever you decide, I'll always love you."

Ami smiled, "I love you too, Zoisite. And… I think…" She blushed, "I think I'm a lesbian."

Zoisite could not help it. He let out a whoop that caught the attention of all the other couples in the room, causing Ami to blush and hide her face in her free hand.

"Um… sorry."

Kunzite chuckled, "I believe it's time for us to go anyway. Mamoru is about to fall asleep. Gentlemen," Ami wondered if she was imagining the silent laughter in Kunzite's eyes as he looked at Zoisite when he said that word, "say goodbye to your ladies."


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I wanted to do Zoisite's perspective, but since the guys are still stuck in stones, I went with Mamoru's.

* * *

"So, Zoisite, are you going to tell us, or are we going to spend hours wearing you down?"

Mamoru was stretched out on his bed, the glass case with the stones was on his nightstand, its lid up – as it normally was except when he needed privacy. While they were not manifested currently, he could easily imagine that Zoisite had just rolled his eyes at Jadeite's question.

"I'm sure that I do not know what you're talking about."

"I believe that Jadeite was referring to your cry of exaltation at the end of tonight's meeting." Mamoru chuckled as Nephrite clarified Jadeite's question. He had to admit that he was enjoying teasing the youngest as much as the others were.

"Ami shared a secret with me. You cannot expect me to divulge a secret which the Princess of Mercury entrusted to me."

Mamoru laughed, "Ami's reaction was not that of someone worried about secret, Zoi. She blushed and hid, but she did not look hurt or mortified, simply embarrassed."

Kunzite spoke with a quite chuckle, "While I did not realize that our Prince was so well versed in how to Mercurian blushes, I believe that his assessment is correct. I'm sorry, Zoisite, I do not believe that you can hide behind privileged conversation."

Zoisite groaned, and Mamoru smiled. Many of his conversations with the Shitennou did not involve them manifesting themselves since that required his own energy. Even with the Golden Crystal, there were limits as to how much energy he could expend without draining himself. So, he had learned from necessity how to read their voices, and while he could tell that Zoisite would not mind being left in peace, the teasing and insistence was not really bothering him.

"Come on, Zoisite! We all know that Ami should not have been here tonight. She came, and said something that caused you to whoop. Now, it's not our fault that you could not keep your reaction quiet. So… since you had to share… share!" Mamoru caught the note of satisfaction in Jadeite's voice as he finished making his chase.

"Our psychic friend makes a valid point, Zoi. If you'd rather, I could have Endymion"

"Mamoru, Neph." Mamoru rolled his eyes as he corrected Nephrite. It made him uncomfortable to be called Endymion, and he had been over this more times than he could remember with them.

"Sorry. I could have Mamoru move me over to the windowsill and see if the stars would tell me."

"They wouldn't… and Mamoru wouldn't… and you can't anyway."

"No, but it's always fun to watch you squirm."

"Kunzite? Help? Please?"

"I'm afraid Jade's right, Zoi. You kind of asked for this with that whoop."

"You would have all been drilling me anyway, wanting to make sure that Ami's ok, wanting to know why she came when no one expected her to."

Mamoru smirked, "True, but without the whoop, we probably would have backed off eventually."

Zoisite groaned, and Mamoru could imagine that if the young man had a physical body right now, he'd would have dropped his head into his hands. "I hate you all."

Mamoru sat up and turned to look at the case holding the stones. He blinked as he heard Jadeite respond.

"Aw, Zoiy! You know we love you, freak."

He mouthed the words with Kunzite, "You're not helping."

"I'd forgotten. I don't know how that's possible. I mean, that's pretty big, and yet somehow I'd forgotten."

"Mamoru?" Nephrite's voice was laced with concern. "Are you all right? What did you forget?"

Mamoru started to answer when he realized that it was not his place to say. He imagined that the others probably had not forgotten. "Nothing. I just… this conversation just reminded me of something, that's all."

Zoisite groaned again.

"Oh." Mamoru grimaced slightly as both Kunzite and Nephrite seemed to figure out what it was that Mamoru remembered at the same time.

"Oh? What 'Oh'?" Mamoru laid back down, shaking his head at Jadeite's cluelessness.

"She remembered. She remembered me telling her. She remembered what we did afterwards. She was confused. I think she came because she needed some answers."

"Remembered you telling her what? Answers to what? And what did that conversation remind Mamoru of?"

"Think for a moment, Jadey-boy."

There was silence, but it only lasted a couple of moments before Jadeite's belated, "Oh!" was heard.

"So… what's the problem? If I remember correctly, the two of you got quite… hot… after you finally told her. I remember Mars trying to figure out what had caused Amelie to finally come out of her shell."

"There's no problem, Jadeite. After all, Zoisite would not have let out a whoop if Ami's answer had been, 'I love you, but I'm pretty sure I'm straight. So… friends?'" Mamoru laughed at Nephrite's description of what Ami's rejection would have sounded like because everyone knew just how far off it was as an impression of the shy Mercurian.

"I doubt she would have said it like that, Nephrite." Kunzite's tone was dry, but Mamoru could clearly hear the amusement in his tone.

"Ok… well, obviously not. But you get the point."

"Oh. Well, congratulations, Zoi!"

"Thanks." Mamoru could clearly hear the smile in Zoisite's voice.

"I still don't understand how I could have forgotten an important detail like that though. We're brothers… er… brothers and sister."

Zoisite interrupted Mamoru with a sound of chocking. "Brothers and what? Please, please, please tell me that you did not just call me a sister."

"Hey, cut the man some slack, Zoiy, he just now remembered that you are… well, were female-bodied. He can't be expected to remember everything all at once, freak."

"Jadeite…"

"It's all right, Kunzite. He's right. That is quite a bit to expect Mamoru to remember all at once."

"Oh, I know he's right, Zoisite, and I'm glad that you realize that as well. However, I would prefer if he would not call you a freak."

Mamoru could imagine Jadeite blinking. "Oh… I… Zoisite? You know that I'm kidding right?"

"I know, Jadeite. I know it's just affectionate teasing. I've always trusted you guys with this."

"All right…"

"Zoi… I'm sorry that I don't remember all of this." Mamoru sighed.

Zoisite chuckled, "It's all right, Mamoru. I remember when you first found out the truth. It didn't take you long to figure it out then, and it won't now."

Nephrite's voice was warm, "The main thing that you need to remember is that Zoisite thinks of himself as a man. Yes, he happened to have a woman's body, but his heart and soul are masculine."

Mamoru frowned, "You know… if… when… we figure out how to bring you back. I'm sure we could give you a male body. Have the outside match the inside…"

"No. And not just because of how well Ami reacted tonight. I like myself how I am. I like being a freak. It's part of who I am."

Mamoru grinned and nodded, "Fair enough, Zoi."

"All right, Mamoru. It has been a long enough night. You need to get some sleep. We'll be here in the morning."

"All right, Kunzite… Night, guys."


End file.
